Important Facts for Prelims (21st November 2018)

• 21 Nov 2018

World Heritage Week

• World Heritage Week is marked around the world from November 19-25, after UNESCO declared the designated period a few decades ago.
• Its objective is to increase awareness about the preservation of invaluable heritage and celebrate the architectural and cultural legacy.
• India currently has 37 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Matibabu Device

• It is a non-invasive test kit used to detect malaria.
• It is a low cost and reusable device that could be used to test for malaria instantly. It was developed in Uganda.
• This device is called ‘Matibabu’, a word in Swahili which means “treatment”.
• Unlike current testing methods that require blood to be drawn for testing, ‘Matibabu’ is “bloodless”.
• The device is clipped onto a finger and ‘using light and magnetism, a red beam of light scans the finger to detect changes in the colour, shape and concentration of red blood cells — all of which are often affected when the malaria parasite is present in the body’.
• The result is available within a minute and sent to a mobile phone which is linked to the device.
• Another key feature is that one does not require specialized training to use the device.

• ‘Matibabu’ can provide an easy diagnosis of malaria in low-income areas such as Uganda.

• The device and application won the first prize at ‘Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation’ 2018 — an award dedicated to engineering innovation on the continent.

• ‘Matibabu’ has also been mentioned in Time magazine as one of 50 best inventions of 2018.